The Movie Star's Sextape

by Brandy Blake

  She tried to keep the tone of kindness in her voice. “I think he and I are going to be just fine, Ricardo, but thank you. I have to go now.”

  She gave him a friendly smile and he nodded and looked at her with longing a moment more before turning and heading back to his own

  home. Valerie closed the door and groaned, wondering how to get rid of a neighbor who was pining after her. She put the flowers into a vase and set them on her kitchen table , as she often did with the bouquets that he gave to her.

  Her cell phone rang and she glanced over at it and actually smiled when she saw that it was Lisa calling her. Happiness swelled in her and she answered it cheerfully.

  “You have great timing. I am so glad to hear from you.”

  She could hear Lisa smiling at her through the phone. “Yeah? Why is it great timing?”

  Valerie sighed a little. “Oh, Ricardo was just at the door bringing me flowers and asking me to dump Tristan so I could be with him.”

  “He’s still coming after you? That guy just isn’t going to give up, is he?” She chuckled a little. “So… what is going on with you and Tristan?” she asked interestedly.

  Valerie rolled her eyes, looking heavenward for some kind of answer to give to her best friend. “You know…” she gushed a breath in exasperation, “I just don’t know. We’re supposed to be this fake couple… just doing the tape and then going out in public or being caught in public a few times, and then it’s supposed to be done. Over. No more being together or being around each other, but it just feels like that’s not at all what’s happening.”

  “What are you talking about?” Lisa asked in confusion.

  “I’m not even sure! See, we did the tape. Then Al said that we had to go out and ‘get caught’ in public. We did it. We went out in a limo and went to that Italian restaurant. He had paparazzi waiting for us and our… lives… went straight into the stratosphere. It’s been insane. So… I guess he thinks we should go out one or two more times and then be done and go on our separate ways. Well, Tristan called me and asked me to go to this party with him last night, so I did. Girl… you would never believe all of the stars that we saw there.

  “Everyone who is anyone was there, and it seemed like they all wanted a piece of Tristan and me. It was insane. Well… it was kind of getting to us both, so we slipped away and sneaked into this empty room at the house where the party was, and…” she paused as the memory came flooding back into her mind, making her body react, “and he kissed me. We made out.” Valerie sank into a chair and frowned in disappointment.

  “You made out?” Lisa sounded surprised. “Aren’t you supposed to be doing that anyway?” she wondered.

  “Well… yeah, in front of people. Lisa, we were alone. It was just him and me. No one was there to see us. He just… got close and started kissing me, and then I was kissing him back and… things got hot fast. God. I…” she sighed, “I wanted him. I did. I can’t believe how hot it was, and how fast it happened. We’re just supposed to be acting! This is all supposed to be an act.

  “Even you said that. He’s a good actor. Right? Well… this is on the verge of ending and there we were, wrapped around each other, and I’ll tell you the truth, if we hadn’t gotten interrupted, it probably would have gone a lot further. Probably all the way. I wanted him bad.”

  Valerie rubbed her fingertips over her temples as heat began to build in her belly at the thought of what might have happened the night before.

  “Interrupted? Who interrupted you?” Lisa asked, her tone quiet and serious.

  “The director of the movie he’s starring in. It was his party. He asked Tristan to take me to the party. I don’t know if he wanted us there as a pair because of the video, or what, but he definitely wanted the two of us there together. We were almost the hit of the party, to be honest.” She frowned. “I don’t know what’s going on. I shouldn’t want him this much if we’re about to call it quits and be done with this.

  “Our careers are both soaring. That was the whole point. I feel like I’m getting caught up in him, and that can’t happen. It’s just an act. He’s just acting, and I’m supposed to just be acting, too.” Her voice reflected the sadness that she felt.

  Lisa groaned. “Oh no… Oh, Valerie.” She sighed. “Girl, I can hear it over the phone. I don’t even have to be there seeing your face. I can hear it in your voice and I can just about picture the expression you have right now. You’re falling for him! You are. You’re crushing on him so hard!”

  “Oh god…” Valerie’s eyes widened as she looked up and stared at nothing in front of herself. “You’re right. That’s what this is. I’m crushing on him! Damn it!” Her shoulders fell.

  “Honey, you can’t do that. You can’t afford that. You have to try to get him off of your mind. You can’t want him like that, because you can’t have him. This is all a game… a dangerous crazy game, and you can’t get caught in it, Val. You have to be careful. You have to look out for yourself. Right? I mean… this was all about your career. It’s only been a few weeks. You can’t be that far gone on him yet, right?” Lisa sounded as if she hoped she wasn’t wrong about everything she was saying.

  Valerie nodded her head, even though her friend couldn’t see her.

  “Yeah, you’re right. I shouldn’t be this far gone on him already. I shouldn’t want him this much. I shouldn’t be crushing on him. But… he’s just so… god… he is just so amazing. I love being around him. I love the way he looks and smells, the way it feels when he’s close to me, when he touches me, when he kisses me… oh god. When he kisses me… you have no idea.

  “I don’t even know how this happened. This was never supposed to happen or go this way. You’re absolutely right. I have to stop it. I have to stop it right now. I need to focus on my career and on my grandma… and he and I can be friends, if that happens, because he’s really a great guy, but I can’t fall for him. I have got to find a way to stop that from happening.”

  “Yeah, you do. I don’t want you getting hurt, and I know you don’t want that either. Try to let all of that go. Will you promise me that you’re going to try? Do your best to get over him?” Lisa pressed her.

  Valerie sat up straight and nodded her head. “Yes. I promise. I’m going to get over him and keep this strictly friends, no matter what it takes. He and I are going to be friends, and that’s it.”

  She was determined that she was going to make it happen and keep her promise to her best friend and more than that, to herself. She was not going to fall in love with Tristan Dane, no matter what.

  Chapter8

  Tristan was speaking with one of the producers on his first day of filming when Ethan Granger walked up to him with a tall slender blonde at his side. Her hair hung in big waves to her shoulders, her skin was pale and flawless, her eyes were blue, and lips were scarlet red. She gazed at Tristan and a sultry smile tugged at one corner of her mouth.

  “Tristan, I want you to meet Yvette Sheridan. She’s your leading lady. You two should spend some time getting to know one another.”

  He gave them each a nod and then turned and walked away.

  Yvette held her hand out to Tristan and he shook it and gave her a friendly smile.

  “Hello, Yvette.” He had seen her in several big movies and wasn’t surprised that she was the leading lady in the film he was doing, but he hadn’t expected her at all. “I guess I didn’t realize that you were in this movie. You weren’t at the party on Saturday night… and I hadn’t heard that it was you who had the role.”

  She smiled at him, gazing at him as if she was studying him closely. “Well, I was out of town this last weekend. I was in Paris doing a photo shoot. I just got back yesterday afternoon, so I missed the party. I’m really glad to see that you’re playing opposite me.” She narrowed her eyes in a smoldering way. “You know, I saw your video… you’re one hot lover. I’m looking forward to doing our scenes together on this film.”

  He felt a blush burn his cheeks and he looked a
way briefly as he answered her. “Well, there’s a lot more to me than just what’s going around on the Internet. I’m actually a pretty good actor. I hope you can see that, too, as we work together.”

  “I hope to see everything about you as we work together.” She cooed at him and then with a soft little laugh, she turned and walked away from him.

  He was irritated that she had flustered him. He told himself that he was going to have to learn how to deal with the fact that the whole world had seen him have sex and they were going to bring it up to him sometimes.

  Tristan’s thoughts went to Valerie then, and the heat in his cheeks moved lower in his body as the memory of her in his arms at the party came back to him. He wanted her so much that night, seeing her in the thin dress she was wearing, the one that hinted so much at what was hidden just beneath the material. He’d felt so drawn to her, more than just wanting her; needing to touch her, to kiss her, and he had needed to make love with her, but caught himself before he had gone too far with her.

  He knew that they were only doing it for show, for the public, and he had no right to take any kind of liberties with her, and he regretted doing it, just as much as he wished he could do it. He wanted her more than he had ever wanted any other woman, and it was beginning to consume him.

  He went to a quiet corner of the studio and pulled his cell phone out, hesitating only a moment as he stared at her photo and her phone number under her contact information. He touched the number and called her, his heart pounding as he listened to her phone ringing.

  “Hello?” she answered and the sound of her voice filled him with happiness and made him smile with no effort at all.

  “Hey! I’m just… I’m on a break and thought I’d give you a call. I wanted to thank you for coming to the party with me on Saturday night, and I wanted to tell you just how sorry I was for what happened when we were alone. I shouldn’t have been that way with you. You have really begun to mean a lot to me, and I want you to know that I respect you and I do want to be friends with you.”

  He wished he could say what it was that he was really feeling, but he knew that the best thing for the both of them was to maintain their friendship and not complicate anything between them.

  She heard his words and knew that Lisa had been right. She needed to push the heated feelings in her aside and focus on just being what he needed her to be, and what she needed to be to him. Just friends.

  “Hey… no worries about that. I guess we both had a lot of champagne at that point. We’ll just… be careful and make sure that it doesn’t happen again, right?” she asked softly.

  “Right…” he answered quietly, wishing that it could be so much more than what they were agreeing to. “So… how are you doing?” he asked hoping to change the subject.

  He wanted to talk with her and just hear her voice. He wanted to know what she was thinking about and feeling. He wanted her to let him into her one way or another, even if it was just her head and her life, and not her heart and her body.

  She sighed heavily. “I’m alright.” She spoke with a low voice.

  He frowned and worry creased his brow. “You don’t sound alright. What’s going on? Talk to me… please.” He spoke earnestly, needing her to trust him.

  “Well, it’s my grandmother. I’ve gotten so many job offers, and I’m really busy working every day, but it’s just not quite enough. She was already behind on the house payments and the taxes and I didn’t have any idea that she was, or just how bad it had gotten. She was barely keeping things together, and that’s why she was so worried about losing the house; because she knew that she was down to the wire on everything and she’d lose it all if she wasn’t working.

  “I have some of the money from the work I’m doing, but not all of it, and not enough to take care of what she needs to keep the house… at least, not in time to save it.”

  Valerie couldn’t stop the tears that formed in her eyes or the knot in her throat that threatened to choke her.

  Tristan felt his heart leap right out of his chest and go straight to her. He gripped the phone tight in his hands.

  “How short are you? How much do you need to catch her up?”

  “It’s a lot.” She sniffed as she tried to wipe the tears from her eyes. “There’s no way that I can get it in time.”

  “How much?” he repeated adamantly.

  “Ten thousand dollars.” She barely managed to whisper.

  “I’ll give it to you. I can give it to you today. We have about two more hours of filming if everything goes well, and I can bring it right to you. You can pay me back whenever you are able to. Okay?” he offered, wishing he was standing right in front of her so he could hold her and comfort her. The thought of her worrying and crying ripped at his heart.

  She was quiet a moment. “I can’t let you do that! That’s way too much money!” she resisted.

  She needed the help, but she couldn’t become indebted to the man who she was trying not to fall in love with.

  “Yes, I can help you, and yes, you can take it and pay me back anytime. I wouldn’t even have that much money to loan you if you and I hadn’t made that tape. I’ll be truthful with you, I’m not even sure if I’d have my role in this movie if we hadn’t made that tape, so I owe you a lot. I owe you almost everything that’s happening in my life right now. Let me give something back to you. Let me help you and help your grandmother. You don’t want to lose the house, right?” he persisted anxiously.

  She sighed. “No. I don’t want to lose the house.”

  She knew that he was right. They were both doing much better because of the sex tape and neither one of them could have done it without the other.

  “Then let me help you. It’s no big deal… just one friend helping another. You can pay me back and we’ll be even. If you feel like you owe me, you can take me out to dinner or something. We’ll work it out. Listen, just… just let me do this for you and for your grandmother. I’ll be done in a couple of hours, and I’ll be right over with the money and you can relax. It’ll all be taken care of. I’m not going to take no for an answer, okay? I’ll see you as soon as I’m done here. Chin up, Valerie.” He smiled and she could hear it in his voice.

  His caring and genuine words touched her heart and she closed her eyes, wishing he wasn’t so amazing, and at the same time, thanking her lucky stars that he was so incredibly amazing.

  “Okay.” She breathed out slowly, calming herself. “Okay. I’ll see you when you get here, and Tristan… thank you more than I can express.”

  “You are so welcome. Thank you for everything.” He grinned, thrilled to be able to do anything to help her.

  He was called back to the set then, and he bid her a swift goodbye, promising to see her a little while later.

  She ended the call awash in gratitude for the good friendship she had found with him, and she vowed to herself that she wasn’t going to screw it up or lose it.

  ***

  Three hours later, Tristan knocked on her door and she saw the look of surprise on his face when his eyes drifted over her. She smiled and laughed at him in a teasing way as she stepped back and invited him into her home.

  “What’s that look for?” she asked as she laughed lightly.

  He raised his eyebrows and shrugged as he walked in and followed her into her home.

  “Nothing… nothing at all. I just… haven’t seen you in jeans before.”

  “I know… I’m dressed down. I can’t always be in heels and a dress.” She taunted him gently as she walked to the kitchen. He walked along behind her, not even trying to stop from looking at the way the jeans that she was wearing hugged her curves.

  “Oh, I’m not complaining at all, believe me. Far from it…” He trailed off, feeling heat begin to grow in his groin as his heartbeat quickened. “What are you wearing jeans for anyway? Taking a day off?”

  He tried to turn their conversation toward something that didn’t focus on what she was wearing or how she looked. It was too ar
ousing for him and he wanted to focus on being the friend he knew that she needed him to be.

  She turned to face him in the kitchen. “Well, actually… I’m on my way over to my grandmother’s house. I’m going to do some work in her yard and put a new coat of paint on the place. It’s long overdue for some tender loving care.” She smiled at him then. “Can I get you anything to drink?”

  He nodded. “Yes, please. Water would be good.” He leaned his hips against her counter as he watched her move around the kitchen getting his glass of water. “So, is anyone helping you with the work you’re doing today?”

  She shook her head. “No. My best friend Lisa has been helping me when she gets time, but she’s working today and I’m off, so it’s just me today.”

  He shook his head. “No it’s not. I’ll come with you. I don’t have anything really important going on the rest of the day. I’d love to come give you a hand. I’m pretty good with a paintbrush and I’m not a bad landscaper. I can pull weeds with the best of them, you know.” He reached into his back pocket then and pulled out an envelope. “By the way… here you go. This is for your grandmother.”